Collapsible furniture



United States Patent O 3,300,809 CGLLAPSIBLE FURNITURE Philippe Neer-man, Marke-Courtrai, and Willy Nel, Cour: trai, Belgium, assiguors to Ateliers dArt de Courtrai de Coene Frres, Courtrai, Belgium, a company of Belgium Filed Dec. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 327,427

Claims priority, application Belgium, Nov. 30, 1962,

625,555; Sept. 17, 1963, 637,486

7 Claims. (Cl. 16-135) The invention relates to a hinge, notably for the doors of furniture comprised of panels of agglomerated material covered with a veneer and to be delivered as unassembled parts.

When assembling furniture and notably furniture comprised of panels made of agglomerated material covered with a veneer, the use of the already-known hinges has various drawbacks. Such panels give little resistance to tearing forces generated at the hinge locations when making use of the furniture, the screws used for attaching said hinges rapidly break up the material that surrounds them. Moreover, the lack of strength of said panels adjacent the hinge locations does not allow to collapse and reassemble furniture comprised of such panels. When the furniture is `delivered as unassembled parts, attaching the hinges requires, besides an important equipment, a substantial manual ability. Indeed, adjusting a door can only 1be achieved when the hinges are put in position and attached with the utmost accuracy. Moreover, delivery of the furniture as unassembled parts requires, for reasons of economics, that the volume of the parcels be reduced to a minimum to allow their transport by a single man.

The invention has for its purpose to obviate these drawbacks and to provide hinges which are perfectly adapted to their arrangement on panels of agglomerated material covered with a veneer. Moreover, the mounting of the lhinges according to the invention when delivery is made as unassembled parts, can be made in the sender works, said hinges allowing even when a side panel and a door are assembled, to completely fold the `door back on said panel. When the doors are not assembled at the plant, the hinges according to the invention may be mounted by the user without any danger of a mistake on the part of the user, with the use of a simple screwdriver.

For this purpose, according to the invention, the fixed part of said hinge is comprised of a substantially U- shaped part, which is built-in and attached inside a housing provided into a panel which is to support a door, the width of the xed part of the hinge substantially corresponding to the panel thickness and the housing depth substantially corresponding to the length of said fixed part, in such a way that said iixed part has substantially no projecting element with respect to the panel, the moveable part of the hinge which is attached to a corresponding door, being comprised of a substantially parallelepipedic part, which is housed and rotatable between the two legs of the U that comprises the iixed part and the volume of which is substantially equal to the volume which is left free between said U legs, a swivelling shaft passing through said moveable part and being retained into holes provided in the legs of the U, said shaft being so arranged as to allow the moveable part to rotate and preferably so as to allow the door attached to said moveable part to rotate about an angle which is equal to about 270.

Other details and features of the invention will stand out from the description given below, by way of nonlimitative example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

3,300,809 Patented Jan. 31, 1967 ICC FIGURE l is a perspective view of part of a door and part of a panel, assembled by a hinge accordmg to the invention, the door being shown as closed.

FIGURE .2 isl a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3, with the door open.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3, with the door folded back against the side panel.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the various parts that comprise the hinge, as well as the means for attaching said hinge.

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 are Views partially in plan and in section, showing in various positions a door and a panel assembled together.

In the various figures, the same reference numerals pertain to similar elements.

The hinge 1 according to the invention is comprised of a fixed part 2, of U shape, and of a moveable part 3 that rotates about aV swivelling shaft 4. The xed part 2 of the hinge 1 is attached inside a housing 5 which is provided in the panel 6 supporting the `door 7, the size of said fixed part 2 corresponding to the size of the housing 5 in such a way that said fixed part 2 has no projection with respect to the panel 6. The moveable part 3 of the hinge 1, attached to the door 7 and which is of substantial parallelepipedic shape, is located between the two legs 8 of the U that comprises the fixed part 2, the volume of the moveable part 3 being substantially equal to the volume which is left free between said U legs. The swivelling shaft 4 passing through the moveable part 3 is retained into holes 9 which are provided in the legs 8 of the U and it is so arranged as to allow the door 7 which is attached to said part 3 to swivel over an angle of 270 degrees. The fixed part 2 of the hinge is attached to the panel by means of a screw 10 passing through a hole 11 provided in the lbottom 12 of the U. The screw 10 is screwed into a metal part 13, which is threaded and sunk some distance away from the housing 5 into the panel 6. The part 13 is of cylindrical shape and the axis therefrom is at right angle to the faces of the panel 6, the height of said part being equal to the thickness of said panel 6. The moveable part 3 of the hinge is provided with a threaded pin 14 which, to attach said part 3 to a door, cooperates with a metal part 15 similar to part 13. The edge 16 of the moveable part 3 of the hinge is usually broken so that when the door 7 is open, said part 3 does not have any projection relative to said panel 6. The system for attaching the parts of the hinges according to the invention has the substantial advantage that screwing may be made, not into the panel, but into metal parts which are sunk into the whole thickness of the panel; this attachment system allows, without damaging the panels, many assemblings and collapsings.

When the doors 7 and the panels 6 are assembled in the works before delivery of the furniture as unassembled parts, the hinges 1 enable as shown in FIGURES 3 and 7, to completely fold back the door 7 on the panel 6, which results in limiting the total space occupied by both elements to the sum of their respective volumes.

When the doors 7 and the panels 6 are not assembled in the works before delivery, the user can easily make, without special tools, the assembly of said doors and panels. The panels and the doors, as they leave the works, are provided with holes for receiving the parts 13 and 15 as well as with housings 5 and holes for passing the screws 10 and the threaded pins 14; the user thus only has to arrange in the corresponding hole provided in the door 7 the part 15, to screw the movable part 3 of the hinge by means of the pin 14 on the door 7, to locate the fixed part 2 of the hinge in position on the movable part 3 and to mount the swivelling shaft 4. When these operations V3 are completed, the user only has to locate the part 13 in the corresponding hole provided in the panel 6, to introduce the hinge 1 in the housing 5 and to attach with the screw the fixed part 2 of the hinge to the panel 6.

When furniture pieces with the same depth are set side by side, the hinges according to the invention enable to open the doors of said lfurniture pieces over an angle of 180 degrees.

The hinges and the means for attaching the various hinge parts, even though designed for assembling panels made of agglomerated material covered with veneer, may advantageously be used lin the manufacture of furniture made of solid wood panels Vor of panels having another structure.

It must be understood that the invention is in no way limited to the above embodiments and that many changes may be brought therein without departing :from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A hinge for mounting doors on furniture panels comprising conglomerated panels finished with a veneer thereon, said hinge comprising a fixed part, a pivot pin on said fixed part, and a movable part mounted on said pivot pin, said fixed part having a substantially channel-shape, said fixed part being mounted on said furniture panel in a recess therein so that said fixed part is substantially liush .with the edges of said panel, said channel-shaped fixed part having a hole in the bottom thereof, a threaded member countersunk into the furniture panel spaced from but in alignment with said channel-shaped fixed part, screw means passing through said hole and engaging said threaded member thereby yfixedly mounting said fixed part to said furniture panel, said moving part being attached to a corresponding furniture door, said movable part having a substantially parallelepiped shape, said movable part having a volume no greater than the volume between the depending portions of the channel-shaped fixed part, said pivot pin passing through said movable part and being retained in holes in the depending portions of the channel-shaped fixed member, and said shaft being so located as to allow the movable part and associated door to rotate preferably so as to allow the door to rotate about the furniture panel through an angle of 270.

'2. A hinge for attaching doors of furniture to panels on said furniture comprising a fixed part of substantially channel shape, a movable part having a volume no greater vthan the volume within the channel-shaped fixed part, a pivot pin pivotally mounting said movable part on said fixed part allowing said movable part to rotate through an angle of 270, means for mounting said fixed part on said furniture panel comprising a recess in said furniture panel, receiving means embedded in said furniture panel at a point in alignment with but spaced from said recess, attaching means passing through said iixed part, through said panel and engaging with said retaining means, and means for mounting said movable part on said door.

3. A hinge according to claim 1 wherein said threaded member is of cylindrical shape with the axis thereof at right angle to the panel space and with a height corresponding tothe panel thickness.

4. A hinge according to claim 1 wherein at least one edge of the movable part is in parallel relationship with the rotating axis and the edge nearest the bottom of said channel is beveled, said bevel being adjacent said axis.

5. A hinge according to claim 2 wherein said receiving means comprises a cylindrical shaped member embedded in said furniture panel so as to be perpendicular to and iiush with the surfaces of said panel.

6. A hinge according to claim 2 wherein said means for mounting said movable part on -said furniture door comprises receiving means embedded in said door in alignment with but spaced from said moving part, pin means extending from one side of said movable part, said pin means engaging with said receiving means.

7. A hinge according to claim 6, wherein said receiving member comprises a cylindrical member embedded in said door perpendicular to the surfaces thereof and flush with said surfaces.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 14,899 6/1920 Soss 16-135 809,137 1/1906 Saling 16-165 899,818 9/1908 Weiss 16-135 1,046,999 12/1912 De Vlieg 16-135 1,280,629 10/1918 Appleby 16-135 1,507,322 9/1924 Morris 16-135 1,776,769 9/1930 Baxter 20-92 2,133,204 10/1938 Max 20-92 2,197,870 4/1940 Krasberg 2l l--90` 2,225,178 12/ 1940 Nicholson 16--164 2,398,528 4/ 1946 Hamilton 312-330 2,562,290 7/1951 Backus 312-330 3,113,678 12/1963 Dickinson et al. 211-90 FOREIGN PATENTS 385,401 12/1907 France.

EDWARD C. ALLEN, Primary Examiner.

PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Examiner.

D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A HINGE FOR MOUNTING DOORS ON FURNITURE PANELS COMPRISING CONGLOMERATED PANELS FINISHED WITH A VENEER THEREON, SAID HINGE COMPRISING A FIXED PART, A PIVOT PIN ON SAID FIXED PART, AND A MOVABLE PART MOUNTED ON SAID PIVOT PIN, SAID FIXED PART HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CHANNEL-SHAPE, SAID FIXED PART BEING MOUNTED ON SAID FURNITURE PANEL IN A RECESS THEREIN SO THAT SAID FIXED PART IS SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH THE EDGES OF SAID PANEL, SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED FIXED PART HAVING A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A THREADED MEMBER COUNTERSUNK INTO THE FURNITURE PANEL SPACED FROM BUT IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED FIXED PART, SCREW MEANS PASSING THROUGH SAID HOLE AND ENGAGING SAID THREADED MEMBER THEREBY FIXEDLY MOUNTING SAID FIXED PART TO SAID FURNITURE PANEL, SAID MOVING PART BEING ATTACHED TO A CORRESPONDING FURNITURE DOOR, SAID MOVABLE PART HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELEPIPED SHAPE, SAID MOVABLE PART HAVING A VOLUME NO GREATER THAN THE VOLUME BETWEEN THE DEPENDING PORTIONS OF THE CHANNEL-SHAPED FIXED PART, SAID PIVOT PIN PASSING THROUGH SAID MOVABLE PART AND BEING RETAINED IN HOLES IN THE DEPENDING PORTIONS OF THE CHANNEL-SHAPED FIXED MEMBER, AND SAID SHAFT BEING SO LOCATED AS TO ALLOW THE MOVABLE PART AND ASSOCIATED DOOR TO ROTATE PREFERABLY SO AS TO ALLOW THE DOOR TO ROTATE ABOUT THE FURNITURE PANEL THROUGH AN ANGLE OF 270*. 